EconomyRichards Says It Will Be ‘Extremely Difficult’ for FOMC Not to Raise Rates

Bond traders are pricing in a Federal Reserve rate hike on Wednesday with confidence that has been correct for decades. Interest-rate swaps indicate a more than 90% chance that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and colleagues will raise the benchmark rate by a quarter point from its current 3.5%-3.75% range, implying about 23 basis points of tightening.